The International Gold Council said Tuesday that demand for gold had risen in four Gulf states this year.

In Kuwait alone, it rose eight percent to reach some 16 tons against 15 tons in the same period in 2000, said the council.

The official Kuwaiti news agency, KUNA, quoted the report, released by the council's regional bureau in Dubai, as saying that gold sales had also swelled in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the the second quarter of this year, but declined in Bahrain and Qatar.

Gold demand rose nine percent in Saudi Arabia, 13 percent in the UAE, five percent in Kuwait and 11 percent in Oman. However, it decreased four percent in Barhain and 15 percent in Qatar, said the report – Albawaba.com